Chinenye Anuforo
Unity Bank Plc, yesterday, again said Milost Global Inc has no investment in the bank, but that the company was one of the prospective investors introduced to it by a local entity called Mayo BV, pursuant to various regulators’ advice to the bank on the need to shore up its capital base.
The clarification came after it was widely reported in the media that Milost Global has $1 billion stake in the bank.
A statement by Mohammed Shehu, its company secretary, posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the bank said that, “pursuant to various regulators’ advice to it in recent times on the need to shore up its capital base, the board and management, with the mandate of its shareholders, had engaged in series of discussions and engagement with prospective ‘value-plus investors’.
“All through these engagements, the bank had been properly guided by the extant regulations concerning capital raising and equally made the process open to all prospective investors. Milost Global Inc. is one of the prospective investors introduced to the bank by a local entity called Mayo BV.”
The bank explained that it was not unusual that such introduction and expression of interests would involve some level of preliminary discussions and exchange of non-binding documentary communications between the intending parties towards establishing mutual foundation on which the transaction contemplated would be initiated.
“The ‘Term Sheet’ dated September 4, 2017 said to have been executed was ‘proposal’ submitted by Milost Global Inc. ‘for discussion purposes only and NOT a commitment’ by the parties.
It added: “No definitive documentation governing the proposed financing was executed. It is in relation to the preliminary discussions that courtesy visits were exchanged between representatives of Milost and Unity Bank in 2017 and early 2018. The bank’s Managing Director/CEO was in New York in October 2017 for other engagements and decided to visit Milost and verify the firm’s address as well as put a face to the officers of Milost that have been engaging the Nigerian bank via telephone and emails. A brief meeting was held and discussions were around the dynamics of Milost’s proposal to Unity Bank Plc, and socialisation of the policies and regulations around equity investment in Nigeria.”
The bank noted that it did not at any time suggest or agree to move its listing from the NSE to the USA as falsely reported in the media.
“There was no agreement whatsoever with Milost Global alluding to 60 per cent of Unity Bank Plc shareholding. Also, there is no iota of truth in the allegation that the bank had executed a ‘binding commitment agreement’.”
The bank’s position is on the premise that a document prepared by Milost and which the bank acknowledged merely contained the suggested terms and conditions on which Milost was planning to consider its possible participation in the capital funding of the bank.”
Unity Bank stated that as in its previous correspondence, the bank, through the mandate of its board and shareholders, has been involved in series of preliminary engagements with several prospective investors including Milost, but the bank did not execute a binding definitive agreement with Milost Global Inc.
It is therefore a misnomer for anyone to claim that the bank issued a false statement relative to the nature of the communication between it and Milost.
The nomenclature “Commitment Letter” was apparently adopted by Milost in its communication to buttress its seriousness to proceed with the transactions subject to relevant compliance requirements.
As regards threat mails allegedly received by Milost Global, the bank reaffirms its position that such mails did not emanate from it. The bank therefore is unable to verify such allegation.